Abstract
BackgroundFrailty has been recognized as an independent risk factor for inferior outcomes, but its effect on emergency general surgery (EGS) is understudied.ObjectiveThe purpose of the present study was to define the impact of frailty on risk-adjusted mortality, non-home discharge, and readmission following EGS operations.MethodsAdults undergoing appendectomy, cholecystectomy, small bowel resection, large bowel resection, repair of perforated ulcer, or laparotomy within two days of an urgent admission were identified in the 2016–2017 Nationwide Readmissions Database. Frailty was defined using diagnosis codes corresponding to the Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Groups frailty indicator. Multivariable regression was used to study in-hospital mortality and non-home discharge by operation, and Kaplan Meier analysis to study freedom from unplanned readmission at up to 90-days follow-up.ResultsAmong 655,817 patients, 11.9% were considered frail. Frail patients most commonly underwent large bowel resection (37.3%) and cholecystectomy (29.2%). After adjustment, frail patients had higher mortality rates for all operations compared to nonfrail, including those most commonly performed (11.9% [95% CI 11.4–12.5%] vs 6.0% [95% CI 5.8–6.3%] for large bowel resection; 2.3% [95% CI 2.0–2.6%] vs 0.2% [95% CI 0.2–0.2%] for cholecystectomy). Adjusted non-home discharge rates were higher for frail compared to nonfrail patients following all operations, including large bowel resection (68.1% [95% CI 67.1–69.0%] vs 25.9% [95% CI 25.2–26.5%]) and cholecystectomy (33.7% [95% CI 32.7–34.7%] vs 2.9% [95% CI 2.8–3.0%]). Adjusted hospitalization costs were nearly twice as high for frail patients. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, frail patients had greater unplanned readmissions (log rank P<0.001), with 1 in 4 rehospitalized within 90 days.ConclusionsFrail patients have inferior clinical outcomes and greater resource use following EGS, with the greatest absolute differences following complex operations. Simple frailty assessments may inform expectations, identify patients at risk of poor outcomes, and guide the need for more intensive postoperative care.
Highlights
Operative emergencies in acute care surgery are associated with substantial risk of mortality and rehospitalization [1,2,3]
Frailty has been recognized as an independent risk factor for inferior outcomes, but its effect on emergency general surgery (EGS) is understudied
Frail patients had higher mortality rates for all operations compared to nonfrail, including those most commonly performed (11.9% [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 11.4–12.5%] vs 6.0% [95% CI 5.8–6.3%] for large bowel resection; 2.3% [95% CI 2.0–2.6%] vs 0.2% [95% CI 0.2–0.2%] for cholecystectomy)
Summary
Operative emergencies in acute care surgery are associated with substantial risk of mortality and rehospitalization [1,2,3]. In the setting of EGS operations, Murphy et al used the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database to identify frailty using the modified frailty index (mFI) and found frailty to adversely impact EGS outcomes in those >40 years of age [18]. Applicability of these findings is limited by low participation rates in NSQIP (12% of hospitals performing surgery in 2013) and only 3.6% of the study cohort classified as highly frail by the mFI [19]. Frailty has been recognized as an independent risk factor for inferior outcomes, but its effect on emergency general surgery (EGS) is understudied
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